Of Sanju Samson traded to Chennai Super Kings, it was inevitable that the Jaipur-based franchise would be looking for a new captain. Yashasvi JaiswalDhruv Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja along with Parag had emerged as the strongest contenders for the role, but the all-rounder has overshadowed all to fill the void on a full-time basis.
Notably, this isn’t the first time Parag has donned the captain’s hat for RR; he has done this during the eight matches of IPL 2025 where Samson could not be available, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. While the Guwahati native managed to lead RR to victories in only a few of these matches, it was his batting that shone brightest, including his best of 95 against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Leading RR is not the only leadership experience on Parag’s resume. He has been captain for a long time Assam in domestic cricket and was impressive with his fearless and tactical approach in all three formats of the game. Strong performances in the domestics and IPL also helped the youngster earn his India cap, but he had been away from cricket for quite some time due to a recurring shoulder injury.
As the 2026 IPL season beckons, the Royals will look to add the second trophy to their cabinet, which has been drought-stricken since their maiden title during the inaugural season of 2008, which they had won under the captaincy of the legendary Shane Warne.
Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India will soon announce the official schedule for the 2026 season. Organizers are currently waiting for the dates to be finalized after careful consideration so as not to clash with the election dates in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, home to CSK and KKR respectively. The upcoming edition starts at the end of March and lasts until the end of May or the beginning of June.
Rajasthan Royals squad for IPL 2026
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Ravindra JadejaDhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Nandre Burger, Sam Curran, Adam Milne, Kwena Maphaka, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Donovan Ferreira, Ravi Singh, Shubham Dubey, Kuldeep Sen, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, Vignesh Puthur, Sushant Mishra, Yash Raj Punja, Brijesh Sharma, Aman Rao
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